Links of Interest 1/12

Quick summary of how the talk show hosts involved with late night are handling it on their shows.

I’m happy with this news simply to hear what crazy titles they come up with.

Video game technology is moving along at a nice clip.

A photo montage of things William Burroughs owned. Which leads to the question – what items would you pick to represent your life?

Once again, movies lie to us. This time it’s about space travel.

Ask a child what they think the future holds, and you’ll probably get a better prediction than anyone else can give you.

10 funny moments with Michael Cera. That they’re not all from Arrested Development doesn’t make sense to me.

I love that someone’s great idea was to basically enforce the law.

Remember when AOL and Time Warner merged? Boy, was that a mistake.

I wonder how much longer it is before someone finds a graboid out there in the sand.

Links of Interest 1/7

Interview with Artie Lange.

Michael Cera has a new film coming out.

Rowing across the Atlantic. I guess because it’s there.

Oh my god it’s a Maine Yeti! (Or Sasquatch, depending on your ancestral bloodlines)

A list of some of the stranger ads on television.

Talking to the White Stripes’ Jack White.

Warren Beatty reminisces about what happened on the set of Ishtar.

Sometimes, finding Waldo isn’t the fun part.

This list of 25 lesser known Simpsons characters is a little lame, in the sense that many of them aren’t so “lesser known.” Barney? Selma and Patty? Ralph Wiggum? I’d argue these are fairly well known recurring characters.

Give me Roy everyday of the week. And give yourself a gold star if you remember Roy.

Catch you on the flip side Mrs. S!

Just how important is it to let meat rest after cooking it? Let’s find out.

Links of Interest 12/28

Why do we celebrate New Years at midnight?

Like or hate the CEO of Whole Foods, you have to at least find him interesting.

This is a pretty good wrap up of the viral videos of the decade.

Stuff to get excited about in 2010.

Don’t think much can get done in a minute?

A history of Ms. Pacman you might not have known.

A detailed look at what went in to creating the special effects for District 9.

A 1966 profile on Frank Sinatra that changed the game in magazine writing.

A closer look at the world of Michael Cera.

The interesting man behind bars.

From the Big Picture – scenes from the snow.

Links of Interest 2/25

10 beers you should try before you die. I've tried none of them. Not happy I don't see the meat beer on here I've sampled and loved.

An $8 chocolate bar. Is it expensive because it’s good, or good because it’s expensive.

The real Robinson Crusoe.

Calculating the force of a stabbing can determine guilt apparently. I always thought the stabbing kinda determined guilt, but that's just me.

The second best news of the day. Richter is returning to Conan!



And here's the best news of the day. I'll let it be a surprise.

An interview with Tom Colicchio, the bald judge on Top Chef (without the accent).

The "it" comedian of the moment, Demetri Martin.

A compare and contrast between the cells in your body and the stars in a galaxy. Quite possibly need to be stoned to fully enjoy.

Album covers that are almost as important as the music underneath them.

A look at how and what DaVinci thought about all the time.

More Arrested Development News!

Ok, based on this article, the Arrested Development movie is moving forward.

It looks like the prequel is not going to happen, and that Hurwitz has an idea he is calling, "Valkryie meets Hotel for Dogs." I have seen neither, but am not going to start questioning Hurwitz now. Looks like the idea will follow the clan five years into the future.

And of course it's no secret that major player Micahel Cera, who played George Michael on the show is still undecided about whether or not to return.

Still no words why he is holding out, though I doubt it's for more money, If I may, I have some words for our favorite awkward teen that I will share with you all. Please check them out on the flip side...



An Open Letter to Michael Cera

Dear Michael,

You don't know me. I'm am simply one of the many Arrested Development fans that was disappointed to hear that you were less than enthusiastic about signing on for a movie. Now, I'm not going to pretend I know what your motivation is for not signing up. I'm also not going to call you names or threaten you, as that would ultimately end in lawsuits and restraining orders and neither of us want that.

Instead I'm simply going to ask you to come back for one reason - your fans. Sure, you might be sitting in your gold mansion reading scripts and debating your next great movie choice, recognizing that the whole world is your oyster. Unfortunately, us common folk don't have that view. We have to go to TGI Fridays for our oysters, and even then we're kind of playing a weird Russian Roulette with the toilet that isn't always worth it at the end. Sure, we could upgrade once in awhile and go to a Ruby Tuesday's, but that's not really the point. The point is our lives are full of grey cubicle walls and broken dreams. We need an escape pod from our dead end lives, and even if that escape pod ride is only 2 hours before we somehow crash back onto the dead end lives ship we were trying to escape from, we'll still take it.

And this Arrested Development movie is our escape pod. Sure, you might be saying to yourself (or to the 6 high-end prostitutes that you surround yourself with on a daily basis - or gigolos, I don't judge) where were you when the television show was on? If Arrested Development was such escapist fare, why did it get canceled?

Much like I assume the prostitute/gigolo harem possibly there is silent, I too do not have an answer. To paraphrase an most excellent movie, "I died that day" they took you off the air. (I will neither confirm nor deny that tears and pounding fists on my bed were involved.) Did I create petitions urging FOX to get you funny show back on the air? No. Did I write letters to high powered people in Hollywood imploring them to use some of their influence in their sauna sessions with other high powered people in Hollywood? Again no. So I'm not saying I did everything I could. I'll never suggest I'm the bigger man here.

What I am suggesting is you be the bigger man here. Yes, you can piss off your million dollar deck and the urine will trickle down onto a pile of scripts that you can star in. It would take a crystal meth heartbeat for your agent to land you the next big movie needing a slightly awkward yet somehow sexy guy enrolled in college. You are the "it" guy of the moment for that type of role. So sure, an Arrested Development movie might at first glance seem to be a step backwards, or at very best a step laterally spelled that one correctly on my first try!). But, and I'm taking a deep breath here to illustrate the importance of the next thought, don't forget how you got to a point in your life where doing a line of cocaine off a stripper's back can get you a movie deal and not a jail sentence (ask Mickey Rourke about the difference...I'm pretty sure he's been through the coke cycle a number of times by my count). Arrested Development made you the person you are, and while you don't owe it, or us, anything (as you certainly gave it your all and gave as much as you got - especially the episode where you bought marijuana) the pride, joy and sense of satisfaction you could give not only the diehard fans (quick question - have you ever met a casual fan of the show? Does such a creature exist?) but also yourself would be...just...super cool.

Please, don't make a snap decision based on this. Take your time, go to your happy fun quiet place or Whiskey Dicks and mull it over. I have a strong feeling that once you do, you'll find your heart showing you the right path.

And if it doesn't, and you do decide to pass, have fun on Nick and Norah's Playlist 2. I'm sure that will be real awesome.

Sincerely,

Goose

All Things Arrested Development

It's no secret we here at the Popcorn Trick are huge fans of the show Arrested Development. In fact, I don't think I'd be going out too far on a limb to say we both think it's one of the top 5 sitcoms of all time. (Cline feel free to chime in with agreement or rage).

Because of that, I've decided to try and make this blog THE spot on the web to find out all news about the alleged movie about the show.

That's right, apparently there is an Arrested Development movie in the works. Read about it here.

The good news: It seems like the entire primary cast (minus one) is not only keen to the idea, but clearing their schedule to make it happen. It also looks like Ron Howard will be back (not sure if he would be directing, if not, may I suggest Jay Chandrasekhar who has directed a number of the episodes) and producer/creator Mitch Hurwitz is involved as well.

The bad news: The aforementioned holdout may be Michael Cera. He has mentioned he's uninterested in a movie right now. I'd hate to see him not be a part of it, but I'd hate to not see a movie more.

And yes, I realize that there's a possibility that a movie could taint the show's platinum-level run in quality. But who cares? If, in the small chance it stinks, we still have the DVDs to fall back on. And I for one believe the self-referential nature of the show will not let it happen.

So c'mon Michael Cera (if you are the holdout) get on board and make this news perfect.

More Arrested Development movie updates as they happen.